Barak Granot, Marketing Expert and Co-Founder of Metrix Promotions says, “In the last few years, the way that clients search for and find a new service providers has changed.” In the past, a lot of businesses primarily got new clients through referrals from existing clients or through yellow pages ads. Consumers are now getting on the Internet and researching businesses, looking for reviews, information on services and pricing, all before venturing into the office or booking a first appointment.
“The data is visible,” Granot explains, “When someone is looking up a business name—even if they are just looking for a phone number or for more information—they will immediately see the doctor’s reputation from review websites. Reading reviews has become part of our buying process. Now, it is suspicious if there are no reviews and no information about the business and repelling if the reviews are bad so the only option is having great reviews and a lot of them.”
Granot believes that business owners are just becoming aware of the need for an online and social media presence, actively soliciting and monitoring client reviews on accessible and popular websites and building a 5-star reputation. “4 out of 5 people who get a recommendation from friends and family for a new business will also check out the business’ reputation online,” he adds.
